Changing Worlds
by spiralnebulaM31
Summary: Robin wakes up after the Author's reality and looks desperately for Regina. It takes place in the season 4 finale. Outlaw Queen reunion scene plus Henry. Now a second chapter from little Roland's point of view!
1. Robin's point of view

**A/N: It started with a tumblr prompt by Franzi (soligblomma) :) Robin's point of view.**

Red. It's red and warm. Blood is escaping from Regina's body freely and Robin can feel how warm it is even with the glove covering his hand. The liquid that is still keeping her alive is a dark shade of red, but the contrast it makes with her skins is unreal. She is pale; even her hands are pale. The color has left her cheeks, but her eyes are shining and telling him things noone has ever told him before. Although he doesn't really know her, she is lighting up his whole world. She fills all his senses and her pain is his pain, too. He's trying to reassure her, to make her believe she will be okay even if there's no hope left in him and he's dreading what will come next.

The boy who calls her "mom" crouches beside her. He's clutching a quill and something else and he's muttering things Robin can't understand. Because all he can feel is her agonizing breaths and all he can see is her eyes closing for the last time. He realizes his own eyes are full of unshed tears and the desperation drowns him for a second. But then everything is blurry and bright. The light -is it coming from her? from the boy?- is blinding and when his vision can focus on the world around him again, he finds himself sprawled on one of the streets of Storybrooke. His head is heavy and pounding and his only thought is her blood, red and warm, oozing from her fatal injury.

He's up on his feet in seconds, his heart beating wildly on his chest and he's running. It's like his feet have their own volition and his only instinct is to run to her, even if he doesn't fully comprehend what has happened. Two lives are mingling in his head as he runs and it's overwhelming. One life is much more real than the other and he's sure of that. He knows that they separated only minutes before. He would go to check on Roland and then he would be back with her and she would go to Gold's shop with Emma and the Sorcerer. That feels like it was a lifetime away and in a way it was. Now he can't take her closed eyes out of his mind. Even if it was only for a second, he knows that image will haunt him for a while and right now he just has to find her.

His feet take him to the side of Gold's shop and once he goes around the corner, he spots her not far away. She's alive, she looks okay and she's hugging her son. She's alive. He only has moments for it to register to him, because he now has a new purpose, to touch her, to make sure it's really her. He resumes running and notices Emma on the ground. He makes a move to help her, because Regina is on her feet and she's with Henry and they would both be devastated if something was wrong with Emma. But Emma has almost gotten up by herself, so Robin turns his eyes to Regina again. That moment, that wonderful moment, Regina turns around and their eyes meet.

Only three more wide steps and he's in front of her, hugging her to him like there's no tomorrow. She lets a gasp escape, that hides both relief and surprise, and he knows he almost brought them both on the ground with the force he crashed himself of her, but he doesn't care. The only thing that matters is that she's there, in his arms. She's hugging him back and he holds her tightly, burying his face in her hair, breathing her sweet scent. They pull away slightly and he cradles her head, his hands touching soft hair and soft cheeks, those cheeks that are now flushed with life. He sees her glancing behind him for a moment and he can sense her relaxing a little after realizing that Emma is okay as well. She looks back at him and her smile is dazzling. He can't resist kissing it. She kisses him back briefly, but reassuringly, still having her arms around his waist.

Emma runs away and they both follow her with their eyes. They break their embrace, but their arms are still touching. Henry is lingering beside them and he can recall not recognizing the boy, but he knows him now. He reaches for him and Henry accepts his friendly hug. Robin holds him and pulls Regina back to his other side, the three of them holding on to each other for some long moments. He feels Regina's head drop on his shoulder and his heartbeat speeds up not from excitement, but from fear. He looks down on her and her eyes are closed, but this time it's different, because he can feel her breath on his neck. A faint but content smile is on her face and she's so very much alive. Henry rubs her arm and he tells her that it's okay now. Robin can feel the young man (how did he grow up so much in the few weeks he hadn't seen him?) shaking and he promises himself that he'll do everything in his power to keep his mom alive. Because Henry saw the light leaving her eyes just like he did and that's something no kid should witness. He feels Regina's eyelashes flutter against his jawline and she's looking up at Henry, smiling proudly. He lets go of them and reaches for his phone. After making sure Roland is okay, he feels complete. It's overwhelming, but it's vital and wonderful. Regina's hand rests on his elbow and she's talking with Henry. They're back, they're all back and they're _together_.


	2. Roland's point of view

A little boy with messy curls and big brown eyes is wandering in the dirty streets of this world, a world where children with no family are doomed to remain poor and hungry or disappear forever. That's the only world Roland has ever known.

He thinks he had a family once. He knows that someone must have brought him into this world. He must have had a mama and a papa. He remembers nothing about them though. He only knows that children do have families, because he saw Lizzie a while ago crying and crying until she couldn't shed more tears. Her papa had left her near the entrance of their hideout and even though Roland approached her immediately, she didn't raise her head to look at him until the tears had dried on her face.

Since then Roland tries to notice how a mama or a papa are with their children. Whenever he hears a scream or sees a tear stained face, he stands up, ready to take action. There could be another child left alone on the street like Lizzie. They have to take every child in. They have to protect them.

Alfie, an older kid, one of those who give them orders, has scolded him for his behavior more than once.

"Stop trying to bring every helpless creature here. We won't even have space for ourselves if more pathetic kids like you learn about our hideout. Do your job and bring _only_ food and money." He snarls as he takes the food Roland has managed to get during the day and searches in the younger boy's pockets for all the coins he can find.

Alfie's clothes are never torn and his hair is never greasy. He sleeps on a mattress and keeps his head high in every occasion. Most of the children are afraid of him, but Roland isn't. He's afraid that he might end up having no shelter though, so he lets him take everything.

He's certain he's going to starve one of those nights, but Ayla is always there to pass him a bowl of porridge and some water. Her stare to Alfie is reprimanding and Alfie shrugs with a disgusting smirk on his face. Sometimes he pulls Ayla to the mattress with him and caresses her hair, holding her to his chest. Roland has noticed that, so he gladly takes what Ayla offers him. He knows Alfie won't hurt her.

Roland is old enough to understand now. Someone has protected him from the world outside since he was as tiny as those two boys who are the most recent addition to the place they call home. He has a feeling it was Tobin that took him in. He's a kind boy, strict when he has to be, but so very kind. He's always calm and Roland admires the way he uses his bow. Sometimes he watches him in astonishment when he teaches some older boys how to shoot arrows. Roland wants to be just like him when he grows up. He hopes Tobin will choose to teach him as well when he gets older.

Until then he takes his usual place on the street every day, waiting for people to take pity on him and pass him some food or, if he's lucky enough, some coins. It's the only thing he's supposed to do and no matter how it doesn't _feel_ right, he has no other choice. It has already begun getting cold outside and he has to work if he wants to keep his place in the hideout for the winter.

Ayla approaches him with a warm smile on her face.

She places her hand on his shoulder and tells him "Why don't you take a break and go eat something with Lizzie?"

Roland looks at her unsure. "Where is Alfie?" He asks in a small voice, in case Alfie is around and can see what's happening.

"He's sick. He had to stay inside today, so I'm here instead. Come on, go to your friend. But don't be late, okay?" Ayla's reassuring smile doesn't reach her eyes, but Roland takes what he can get. He nods and takes off, running through the narrow streets until he reaches the main roads with shops and taverns on the side. He knows exactly where Lizzie stands every day.

The girl's face breaks into a grin when she sees him. They sit on an empty wooden box beside the road and enjoy the rare occasion of being able to observe the people and the world around them without having to work. They dare looking directly at people's faces, something they're not allowed to do when they're asking them for food or money. Roland has broken that rule more than once though. He's realized that people give him more when he looks into their eyes, when he tries to beg them that way. It's different now; they just observe.

There's a man unloading some barrels from a carriage. He's a few feet away, but Roland can smell his breath from where he sits. He smells like Alfie does some nights, when he's more forceful and threatens to beat any of the younger children who hide food from him. Roland doesn't like looking at this man, so he turns his head away.

There are two kids around Alfie's and Ayla's age, sitting nearby. They're talking with each other and smile. Roland notices something in their expressions he can't comprehend. Could this be what people call happiness?

He averts his eyes again. This time they land on a beautiful light brown horse stopping in front of a tavern. A dark haired woman gets off the horse quickly and a man ties its reins nearby before he follows her inside the tavern. Roland doesn't see much of the man, but a feeling of comfort reaches his heart. His hair is blonde and he carries a bow. He reminds him of Tobin and he fights the urge to run to him into the tavern.

The minutes pass and once Lizzie and Roland finish their bread, a boy around Tobin's age appears on the main road.

"His clothes are strange" Lizzie says and Roland has to agree.

The boy runs into the woman who had been on the brown horse earlier. It looks like they're arguing. The woman pushes the boy towards the tavern's door and walks away. The boy runs after her and calls her 'mom'. Roland can hear them now. The woman says something about another mom of his. Roland's face scrunches up in confusion. How come that boy has two mamas and he has none?

The woman sounds like she doesn't want the boy who calls her mom. Roland is ready to get up and go to him, tell him to come with them to their hideout. But then woman and boy walk away together, even though they're still arguing. Roland follows them with his eyes until they turn in a corner and wonders why the man who reminded him of Tobin didn't go with them. Something in those people stirs his insides and he thinks it's time for him to return to his work.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur and Roland finds himself on the cold floor of the hideout, lying beside Lizzie. His last thoughts before sleep takes him are of the familiar man and the boy who had two mamas.

He wakes up by a blinding light. Have they discovered their hideout? He sits up and it takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the daylight. He realizes that it's day outside and the panic he feels is overwhelming. He should already be out in the streets, working. Working until it was night again and Alfie took all his food and coins again leaving him to sleep in his usual cold spot in the hideout. But this is not the hideout.

He looks around hesitantly and feels the fluffy blankets that surround him. He's not in the hideout. He's in his papa's tent. They haven't been living here for a while, but they're back and their tent is still where they've left it. He's here now and the familiar scent of the forest reaches him, comforting like the fluffy blankets.

The entrance of the tent opens and Little John peaks inside. Roland stretches his arms and Little John places him on his lap. Roland's hands circle Little John's neck and he doesn't want to let him go.

"Where is papa?" He asks.

Little John holds him tightly and tells him that his papa will be there soon. He tells him to not be scared.

"I'm not scared" Roland whispers, because he shouldn't be scared. He can't be scared. He remembers a life where he didn't have his papa and now his papa will be here soon. He has to stay strong, but he can't stop the first tears that wet his cheeks.

His papa appears in a cloud of purple smoke along with Regina. Roland lunges forward and his papa lifts him up and squeezes him. They sway together for a moment, just the two of them.

"Papa" Roland says in his papa's ear just to say it, just to make sure it's real.

"My boy" His papa says against his hair and Roland cries again, because he's happy. And he knows it now. He knows what happiness is.

Roland turns his head towards Regina and she has tears in her eyes as well. He extends his hand and she takes it, joining their embrace. She leaves a soft kiss on his hair and one on his damp cheek and then her head falls on his papa's shoulder and one of his papa's arms goes around her.

"When will mama be back?" Roland asks tentatively. His mama hasn't returned to their forest with them yet and he misses her.

He sees his papa and Regina exchanging a look before his papa answers. "Soon, my boy. Now why don't we sit there and have some juice?"

Roland nods and his papa takes him near the fire. Regina disappears for a while and comes back with juice for all of them. He starts sipping from his glass, but stops abruptly, almost spitting a big gulp of the orange liquid out of his mouth.

"It tastes weird." He complains. His papa and Regina exchange a look again.

"That's because it's a special juice. It will make you big and strong." Regina tells him. Regina has always been good to him. She has always played with him, read him stories and let him have ice cream. So, he believes her.

"Big and strong like papa?" He asks and receives a smile from both of them.

"Yes, like papa." Regina answers, caressing his cheek, while his papa rubs soothing circles on his back.

Roland notices that their smiles aren't happy smiles. But grown-ups are sometimes difficult to understand, so he dismisses his worries and takes his glass in his hands again.

The two worlds are separate in his mind now, although he can still feel tired and hopeless from staying out in the street for too long. But his papa and Regina are there to take care of him now and his mama will be there soon. He drinks the rest of the bitter juice with a grimace of disgust.

"Where is Henry?" He asks once he's done with his juice. He hasn't seen the boy a lot of times. Just once when the curse broke –Roland doesn't understand what that meant, but that's what everyone was calling the uncomfortable feeling of remembering too much in only a second– and once the previous night when he strolled into Granny's diner with his papa and Regina and met Henry and the others. He doesn't remember much after that, but he guesses he fell asleep and his papa carried him to their camp.

"Henry is with his other mama." Regina tells him and her hand that doesn't rest on his knee reaches his papa's hand and squeezes it. "But you can see him tomorrow. Okay?"

Roland nods and smiles at her. She leaves soon after to be with Henry, but his papa stays with him until the night comes. He tucks him in the fluffy blankets and lies beside him. He tells him stories about a castle and a little knight and about a beautiful queen who has the good kind of magic.

This time his last thoughts before sleep takes him are about the next day, about the time he'll spend with his papa, Regina and Henry. He almost jolts completely awake from excitement, but his exhaustion is stronger. His eyes droop closed with the comforting feeling of his papa's hand on his own.


End file.
